Question

If I read the temper of our people correctly, we now realize as we have never realized before our interdependence on each other; that we can not merely take but we must give as well; that if we are to go forward, we must move as a trained and loyal army willing to sacrifice for the good of a common discipline, because without such discipline no progress is made, no leadership becomes effective.
(from Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Inaugural Address , www.archives.gov)

Using context clues, explain what interdependence means in regards to excerpt above. Be sure and write your answer in complete sentences referencing the excerpt above.

Answer 1

The word interdependence means mutual dependence, mutual necessity of each other. Here Roosevelt is talking about how Americans need each other, working as a team, "move as a trained and loyal army willing to sacrifice for the good of a common discipline", to overcome the greatest obstacle of America's history by the date the speech was given: the Great Depression. He is calling his fellow countrymen to work together and follow him through the midst of that difficult time, in a disciplined manner because it's the only way to move forward.